Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2005

Envoys overseas get 2.9 million yen for housing; here they get 200,000 yen

Foreign Ministry officials stationed overseas are granted an average of 2.9 million yen in housing benefits a year while ministry officials in Tokyo get only 200,000, yen according to a document endorsed Tuesday by the Cabinet.
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2005

Tomorrow's bikes on display today at Makuhari

With 133 motorbikes and scooters on display from Japan's four major manufacturers, and 57 more from eight overseas makers, eye candy abounds at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. This year's show features 29 world premiers and 37 Japan premiers. Here are just a few of the many highlights.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

First-half bankruptcies below 6,500

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the first half of fiscal 2005 dropped below 6,500 for the first time in 14 years on a half-year basis, Tokyo Shoko Research said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

MMC seeks salvation in flagship Outlander SUV

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Monday launched the new Outlander sport utility vehicle, its first all-new model in nearly 2 1/2 years, which it hopes can revitalize the struggling automaker.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 18, 2005

Ministry missive wrecks reception

Between Oct. 7-11, the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), Japan's largest convocation of language educators, held its annual meeting in Shizuoka, a pleasant city between Tokyo and Osaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2005

On the precipice in Iraq

WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 16, 2005

Revitalized Chiba Lotte franchise alive and well in Makuhari

Most Japanese fans of Major League Baseball are pulling for a Chicago-St. Louis World Series, hoping to see a match-up of the "Guchi Brothers," former Japan Pacific League rivals Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox and So Taguchi of the Cardinals.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 16, 2005

Willam Empson, 'The tale of Genji' and the Westerner's view of Japan

WILLIAM EMPSON: Volume I -- Among the Mandarins, by John Haffenden. Oxford University Press, 2005, 695 pp., 16 illustrations, £30 (cloth). Author of several major critical works, notably "Seven Types of Ambiguity" (1930) and "Some Versions of the Pastoral" (1935), William Empson (1906-1984) was also...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Oct 16, 2005

UNEAR THING FACT IN CLASSIC FICTION

'Robinson Crusoe" has fascinated explorer Daisuke Takahashi ever since his elementary school days, when he first read the classic adventure tale about a British sailor who lived on a desert island for 28 years. Imagining that he, too, was marooned on an isolated island, the young Takahashi would roast...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2005

Raid on North Korea-linked offices nets two

, the police said. According to the police, the two men allegedly sold unapproved medicines, including those supposedly for cancer and AIDS, to consumers between May 2004 and September 2005 in violation of the pharmaceutical law.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2005

Toyota, GM at center of global auto shift

The ongoing realignment of the global auto industry may accelerate, with General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. set to play pivotal roles in this seismic shift.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 14, 2005

Psychedelic radar 10.14

Saturday, Oct. 15
EDITORIALS
Oct 13, 2005

Nobel prize for fighting proliferation

Mr. Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog agency that he leads, are the winners of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. The award underscores the critical significance of the work done by Mr. ElBaradei and the IAEA. But given the events of the last year, it...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2005

U.N. resolution stresses NPT

Japan on Wednesday submitted a revised nuclear disarmament draft resolution to the United Nations that underscores the importance of an effective framework for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2005

Moodie clinches AIG Open tourney

South Africa's Wesley Moodie recovered from an unsteady start Sunday to claim the AIG Japan Open men's singles title with a 1-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 win over No. 5 seed Mario Ancic of Croatia.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 9, 2005

Breaking the silence on sexuality in Japan

GENDERS, TRANSGENDERS AND SEXUALITIES IN JAPAN, edited by Mark McLelland and Romit Dasgupta. London: Routledge, 2005, 218 pp., £60 (cloth). Now that the conspiracies of silence have begun to evaporate, scholarly works on gender and transgender have begun to proliferate. This very interesting collection...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 9, 2005

Why has militant extremism become such a strong force for radical Islam?

JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH: Radical Islam in Indonesia, by Greg Barton. Ridge Books: Singapore, 2005, 118 pp., $15 (paper). Eerily the news of the recent Bali bombings broke as I was reading this concise analysis of why radical Islam remains a potent threat in Indonesia and the region. It is believed that there...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 8, 2005

Conor Hanratty

Conor Hanratty of Ireland says there is obvious benefit in studying a subject ranking amongst the less sought-after. When he enrolled in Royal Holloway, University of London, for his master's degree in Greek theater performance, he was one of only four in his class. Undoubtedly he did not require individual...
COMMENTARY
Oct 8, 2005

Stellar play fosters globalized mindset

LOS ANGELES -- Some things are just nice to see, and there's not much more to it than that. In America around this time every year, one of the nicest things to see -- especially for the inveterate sports fan -- is the invariably engrossing finale of the long Major League Baseball season.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2005

Seven-Eleven helps set Ito-Yokado sales record

Ito-Yokado Co. said Thursday its group sales during the first half of its business year to August came to a record high of 1.88 trillion yen, up 4.5 percent from the previous year, due largely to brisk performance by the group's Seven-Eleven Japan Co.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 7, 2005

Psychedelic radar 10.07

Saturday, Oct. 8
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2005

Bigger cut in JGBs planned for 2006

The government plans to reduce the amount of bonds it issues by more than 2.2 trillion yen in fiscal 2006 to improve the nation's debt-ridden finances, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 6, 2005

Give them what they want

When Paul Baron moved to Tokyo three years ago, he was excited to explore the city's vast art world as he had been an avid follower of art events while studying graphic design in London. There was only one problem: Where to find out what was going on. It should have been easy; it should have all been...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

Disneyland attendance fell during expo

The Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea amusement parks had a total of 11.66 million visits in the six months through September, down 3.1 percent from a year earlier, amid the just-ended Aichi World Expo, according to operator Oriental Land Co.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2005

When numbers don't add up

of a Japanese unit of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Group were arrested last month on suspicion of falsifying accounting reports of Kanebo Ltd., a maker of sundries, food products and pharmaceuticals. If these CPAs are found guilty of violating the Securities and Exchange Law, the credibility of the nation's...
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2005

That new car smell -- a standard, harmful feature

Anyone who's pulled away from the dealer's lot in a shiny, new sedan knows the seductive scent of fresh plastic, paint and upholstery that evokes a rush of pride and consumer satisfaction.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 2, 2005

Sheets a key player for Tigers in pennant-winning season

Congratulations to the Hanshin Tigers on winning their second Central League pennant in three years. The victory was a true team effort highlighted by a potent offensive attack, a balanced pitching staff and clever use of an adequate pool of talent by manager Akinobu Okada.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 2, 2005

Timeless complement of form and function

INSPIRED SHAPES: Contemporary Designs for Japan's Ancient Crafts, by Ori Koyama, translated by Charles Whipple, photographs by Mizuho Kuwata. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2005, 112 pp., 3,900 yen (cloth). Life in urban Japan is so suffused with artificial, factory-produced materials that the soul can...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 2, 2005

The looking glass of Chinese history

MIRRORING THE PAST: The Writing and Use of History in Imperial China, by On-cho Ng and Q. Edward Wang. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005, 307 pp., $50 (cloth). It was the 19th-century English historian E.A. Freeman who observed that "history is past politics, and politics is present history."...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake